Now that we’ve got the preliminary stuff down, we’re ready to start making coffee! (Woohoo!) There are three things that affect the taste of coffee: water temperature, grind size, and coffee to water ratio. Today we’re going to spend a little time on grind size.
Basics
Depending on your preferred coffee making method, you probably have an idea of what grind size you need for your coffee. Different brewing methods work best with different grind sizes, from cold brew at the coarsest, then coffee presses, then pour overs and percolator machines at a medium, to espresso at fine, and finally Turkish at the finest. Basically, the size of the grind impacts how fast water travels through the coffee.
In general, the finer the grind, the slower water moves through it. This is especially easy to notice with an espresso machine or pour over. Of course, the grind size is still relative to your brewing method. Pour overs should always be ground to medium. But depending on how your coffee tastes, you might want a coarser or finer medium. We’ll get into individual brewing methods later on, but this principle is enough to get you 1% better as a home barista.
What to do
Finer grind for stronger coffee, coarser grind for weaker coffee. As you’re making your coffee at home, you can use that idea to make small adjustments in your coffee’s flavor. If your coffee tastes a little weak, grind it a little finer next time. If it’s stronger than you prefer, make the grind a little coarser. This is an easy way to experiment with the flavor of your coffee and see if different tasting notes become more prevalent.
Thanks for learning with us! Here’s to making great coffee at home!
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